Temple University School of Tourism and Hospitality Management (STHM) Professor Daniel C. Funk recently received the Research Fellow Award from the Sport Marketing Association (SMA) for excellence in the area of sport marketing research.

The work Funk disseminated through SMA and Sport Marketing Quarterly (SMQ), SMA’s official journal, was honored at SMA’s conference in Albuquerque, N.M., on Oct. 23-26.

Funk stood out as a distinctive SMA member who encourages high standards of research and other forms of scholarship among SMA’s members. He has participated in nearly 20 grant-funded projects, has written a refereed scholarly book, an industry book and a sport marketing textbook, numerous book chapters, and has authored or contributed to more than 80 articles published in a variety of top journals. He was also recently appointed editor of SMQ.

 “Being named a research fellow by the Sport Marketing Association was a great honor,” Funk said. “This year was the inaugural class of SMA research fellows with six other faculty members from across the United States receiving the award. It was a privilege to be selected and receive the award at the national conference alongside some of the best sport marketing researchers in the field.”

 Funk’s research and consultancies focus on understanding factors that explain consumer involvement and behavior in order to improve internal and external marketing functions.  His research offers marketing and management solutions to businesses, communities and government agencies that provide sport, recreation and tourism services and products.

Funk, a professor of sport and recreation management, is a Washburn Senior Research Fellow and director for research and PhD programs at STHM. He is also a member of Temple’s Sport Industry Research Center. Funk holds appointments with the Griffith Business School in Australia, the University of Pretoria’s Gordon Institute of Business Science in South Africa and the Faculty of Educational Services at the University Putra Malaysia in Malaysia.

–Alexis Wright-Whitley